Wayne Brady teams with Author Maurice Broaddus for Erewhon Books Publishing Deal

Erewhon Books, an imprint of Kensington Publishing Corp., has acquired World Rights to HARD TIMES, a time-bending sci-fi thriller co-authored by Emmy Award-winning and Grammy-nominated, performer and author Wayne Brady and acclaimed author, Afrofuturist, and community organizer Maurice Broaddus. The deal encompasses two novels, with HARD TIMES slated for hardcover publication in early 2027 and a sequel in 2028.

For readers of Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Octavia Butler’s Kindred, HARD TIMES is a near-future time travel adventure about an estranged father and son who must bridge their turbulent history while trying to escape “The Farm,” a for-profit prison that exists outside of time. Inspired in part by Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th, the novel draws parallels between Jim Crow-era policies and today’s school-to-prison pipeline, confronting the systemic injustices of mass incarceration in the United States.

“This is what happens when H.G. Wells meets Huey Newton—a time-bending sci-fi epic that tears through the past, present, and future to confront one of America’s greatest sins: the systemic incarceration of Black bodies,” said Brady. “It’s my answer to every story that left Blackness out of the future. At its heart, Hard Times is a reclamation—for anyone who’s ever felt erased from the narrative.”

Broaddus added, “Wayne and I wanted to tell a story that centers Black fatherhood, explores generational pain and healing, and goes up against the systems that seek to break those bonds. Hard Times is the romp I wish I’d grown up reading.”

Editor Diana Pho said, “I’m not surprised that Maurice and Wayne connected on their shared love of speculative fiction, social justice, and authentic representation of the Black experience through storytelling. Erewhon Books is immensely excited to publish Hard Times: an opportunity to address the timely and universal issue of incarceration and the oft-buried history of America in the guise of this thrilling time-travel adventure.”

The deal was negotiated by Anthony Mattero at CAA and Thomas Hoberman for Brady and Bridget Smith at JABberwocky Literary Agency for Broaddus with Diana Pho, Editorial Director at Erewhon Books.